Digital Euro Within Decade 'Very Likely,' Says Finland's Chief Central Banker

Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn told Reuters Friday he believes a digital euro is "very likely" to debut in Europe in the next 10 years.

• He was less certain on the European central bank digital currency’s (CBDC) eventual design, saying the European Central Bank (ECB) “will first analyse and experiment.”
• A retail digital euro will be “supplementary to" cash; it will not replace it, Rehn said.
• Europe’s CBDC specialists want to “work together with the private sector” on a digital euro, he said.
• However, Rehn notably rebutted comparisons to the libra stablecoin backed by Facebook. He made clear, though, the ECB will work with the private sector on fitting the project to Europe.
• The ECB is expected to decide next steps for the digital euro project in mid-2021.

See also: Inside the Estonian CBDC Experiment That Could Shape the Digital Euro